Kumamoto is known as the "land of fire." Hearing that this expression is derived from its active volcano, Mt. Aso, most people probably think of craggy mountain ranges. As might be expected, the area around the crater is mostly covered with lava rock, creating a rugged atmosphere with exposed bare soil and rock. As hard as it may be to believe, however, most of the mountains have such elegant forms that they remind you of a statuesque woman.

This is because the mountains in Aso are not covered in tall trees, but with wide open meadows. As mountains covered with soft green leaves look smoother than those covered with forests, the green silhouettes of the peaks clearly stand out against the background of the bright blue sky when you look at the entire mountain range from a distance.

The truth of the matter is that the green meadows, which are the pride of Aso, were not formed naturally. They are the result of human activity carried out over the past several hundred years. They have come about through the endeavors of people to pasture cattle and horses and make hay to feed them during the winter.

Around the time of the spring equinox, all of the fields are burned together in order to exterminate harmful insects and encourage the sprouting of new grass. The charred mountain surfaces wear an entirely new yellowish-green costume in May as early summer comes and the mountains present their most beautiful look of the year.

As if rejoicing in this change of costume, a total of 350,000 Kyushu azaleas bloom in their full glory near Suisen-kyo Gorge and around the summits of the mountains. It makes you feel as if you are walking through a field of azalea flowers when you walk on the mountain trail at Suisen-kyo Gorge. You will enjoy the view of the mountain range from the lookout, which looks like it is capped with pink snow.

Around this time, the cattle are sent out to pasture and pastoral scenes of both brownish red and black cows grazing in the meadows can be seen. In particular, the scene of cows and horses drinking from a large pool of water at Kusasenrigahama is one of the emblematic images of Aso.

Inside the caldera surrounded by mountains, the people living in Aso actively start engaging themselves in agriculture. It might be that the beauty of Aso in the early summer is created by the vivid impressions of the people, plants and animals living there enjoying their shining existences.

Aso Tourism Association
http://www.aso.ne.jp/~aso/index.html

Photos provided by
Aso Tourism Association